The Minister of National Defense said Thursday that the first Canadian evacuation flight from Sudan had taken off and that more evacuations were planned over the next few days.
Anita Anand said Thursday morning that the Canadians had left the country in a Hercules search and rescue plane and that more flights are planned in the coming days, in two of the Canadian planes which are in eastern Africa.
Passing through Enfield, Nova Scotia, on Thursday morning, the minister told reporters that the Canadian army was working in an unstable situation in this country, where violence broke out last week between the national army and a paramilitary force.
Ottawa has come under fire for being slow in its repatriation operations, while other allies have done the heavy lifting so far to help Canadians and their dependents get out of Sudan.
On Wednesday evening, Global Affairs Canada said it was aware of about 1,800 Canadian citizens in Sudan and about 700 people had requested government assistance to leave the country.
Officials who gave a technical briefing to reporters on Wednesday, provided they were not named, said Canadian evacuation flights were unlikely to continue beyond this week.
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